SPOTLIGHT: RYAN ACEVEDO

Meet Ryan Acevedo and tune into his newest EP “Case Files from a Broken World” out May 1st.

Take us back to the start! What first drew you to music, and how did it grow into something you wanted to pursue more seriously?

So according to my parents, I have always been a musical person. I started showing signs of musical talent when I was two (their story), but I didn’t get really deep into it until I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was doing piano lessons up until my freshman year of high school when I started losing favor with music. Once I got involved in jazz ensemble, I really felt like I got my spark back. College solidified that when I started meeting like-minded musicians that were really passionate about music. Once I started playing gigs, I knew that I wanted to really dig into my own songwriting and release stuff.

You started with classical piano and now lean into rock and beyond, what sparked that shift in direction?

Growing up, my dad would always play classic rock and such in the car when he took me to school. I used to honestly hate it and would only listen to classical music and pop (a crazy combo, I know). Once I started really building my own identity musically outside of lessons, I really found how beautiful rock was. Some of the other genres just kind of appeared when I started branching out. The biggest one was for sure the vaudeville music, since that was a very leftfield genre. I just liked the vibe it had and it just stuck.

How has your time at Baldwin Wallace shaped your identity as a musician and storyteller?

BW really helped me learn what it meant to be a musician. I am so lucky to have friends like Jack Lutz and Joe Brown who not only are extremely talented musicians themselves, but fantastic writers. On top of this, I have always been someone who wrote stories for my own pleasure, so combining them really helped bring my vision to life.

“Case Files from a Broken World” feels like a concept project but yet, an emotional documentary. What inspired this particular story and structure?

I had this idea initially with “Rose Tinted Glasses” to write a song or two about a dystopian world that seemed normal to the blind eyes of society. This came to me during my sophomore year while I was at a church event. As I started fleshing out the idea more for a concept EP, I began researching more and more projects about dystopian life. On top of this, I looked at our own world and political climate over the last few years and realized how some people get so sucked into politics that they lose track of what’s really happening. We are lied to about certain things to make ourselves seem better when in reality we can be far from great. That whole idea just stuck with me and it helped me envision what I wanted the EP to be.

You mentioned the idea of a town chasing the American Dream, only to unravel, does this reflect any personal experiences or broader social commentary?

This idea just came from the whole concept of the “American Dream” and how that has really changed over the last 80 years since the end of WWII. Obviously, the technology of their time was not the same as that of my story, but the broad idea is there. We as a country promoted this high-living style, but beneath it all there was turmoil, racism, and neglect for the lower-class individual. So it was really just a matter of looking even at our modern era of revolt against the higher powers of capitalism and government.

This EP covers so much sonic ground, from vaudeville to country to rock. How do you approach genre-blending without losing cohesion?

Diverse writing. It’s easy to try and write the same thing over and over again with different styles, which for me doesn’t work. So I made sure that each song’s style represented its story beat. “Picture Show” for example is a story of manipulation through media, so I used the vaudeville style to create what basically feels like a stage show about manipulation. In contrast, “Headin’ Out West” is a song of freedom and exploring the Western countryside, so I went for a more country vibe. It feels like a travel song in that way.

Were there specific songs that acted as anchors while building the EP’s narrative arc?

“Rose Tinted Glasses” and “Revolution” were the two big anchors for this EP. If you listen to them, Rose ends with a choir and Revolution starts with one. They are connected events. Everything before Revolution is the realization and everything after Rose is the response and resolution. They are tied together at the hip and I wanted to make sure that the bulk of the action happens in these two songs.

You’ve worked closely with peers on this project, how did collaboration shape the final sound of the EP?

I won’t lie when I say that I’m a total noob at writing guitar and drum parts. I can write basslines and piano stuff with ease, but the other two I just can’t. Having Reese (drums) and Jack (guitar) on these tracks really helped me figure out the vibe I want and find some little hidden gems that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise (like the lap steel for “Headin’ Out West”). It’s also another set of ears to make sure my music isn’t total crap.

What was the most rewarding track to finish, and why?

Revolution. That track was a nightmare from start to finish, but it turned into one of my favorite tracks of the EP. I was writing that one up until the day I was in the studio and it had a lot of moving parts, especially with the vocals. It was a lot, but I’m glad it turned out so well.

You’ve been building this EP since last October, was there a moment in that journey where everything clicked?

The minute I heard the master track for “Rose Tinted Glasses,” I knew this was a good idea. I had doubts that my work wasn’t gonna be good enough, but hearing that track and hearing how people liked it, I knew I struck gold.

There’s a lot of emotional and thematic depth here, what’s one lyric or moment in the EP that feels especially personal to you?

The bridge to “Revolution” keeps hitting me over and over again. It’s simple, but it’s powerful. From the starting line of “In the foaming remains…” to the very end, there is so much power and emotion and it really sells the turmoil that these people faced and how their suffering has finally ended.

The EP seems enriched in storytelling, would you say each song has its own story or does each song connect with one another to create one entity?

So each song is a smaller story that connects to an overarching narrative. It doesn’t follow one set person, but rather the metaphorical idea of the collective told as a personified individual. So this person can be literally anyone that the listener wants it to be, even themself.

What do you hope first-time listeners feel when they press play on Case Files from a Broken World?

I want them to feel like they can connect with the internal struggles of the character and see some of themselves in it. There are a lot of parallels between this EP and what’s going on around the world, so I hope that this can inspire people to take charge over their lives and do what they see is best, not what their higher powers think.

As you head back to Sacramento post-graduation, what’s the next creative chapter looking like?

I already have some ideas written out that are still in the planning phase, but I have a couple singles ready to record and a really big LP that’ll be the final chapter of whatever the “Case Files” series will become. I want “Case Files” to be a collection of stories from different generations, different eras, and different struggles.

Lastly, what advice would you give to other student musicians who are trying to find their voice while balancing school and art?

Egos mean nothing. Music has become one of the most competitive markets and is full of bad egos. Don’t write what people tell you to. Write what you want to write. Write from the heart. If people tell you it’s not good enough, don’t listen to them. Music isn’t about money or fame, it’s about expressing yourself through storytelling and heart. Be you.

Listen to “Case Files from a Broken World” here.